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Pixel Scroll 11/14 The 7 Pixels of Highly Effective Scrolls

(1) Here is Hampus Eckerman, “A happy Filer on way to see The Martian.”

(2) But did he know that The Martian is a comedy? Nobody else knew it either until the people who run a set of Hollywood awards started playing games —

The Martian is one of my favorite films of 2015. It was intellectually stimulating, inspiring, thrilling, and even funny here and there, but was it a comedy? I don’t think so, but that’s the opinion of Hollywood Foreign Press: the organization behind the Golden Globes award. Apparently, the film is being shuffled over into comedy so it’ll have a chance to snatch a few awards–any awards–from the grasps of lighter fare: something that it won’t be able to do in the drama category, where there’s stiffer competition.

NASA is not wasting any time in developing new spacesuits to be used in a variety of locations for the Journey To Mars. Two new suits, PXS and Z2, were introduced in October and they have now reached the stage of working advanced prototypes.

The PXS, or prototype exploration spacesuit, was developed to improve performance on extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), spacewalks, in low-earth orbit or outer space. The suit aims to minimize the amount of equipment necessary for long duration EVAs. The PXS has a versatile approach to fittings. Many features are 3D printed, so the suit can be personalized for any crew member and for different types of EVAs.

(4) Remember Westworld, “Where nothing can possibly go wrong…”? If you’re going to the screening of Westworld at the Ace Hotel in LA on November 15, please note that the correct start time is 1:00 PM, not 2:00 PM as displayed in the original show banner.

On Sunday, 18th of October, prolific SFF publisher Gollancz held the Gollancz Festival for Writers, as a sort of addendum to the already sold-out Gollancz Festival 2015. It had a smaller line-up of authors compared to the main festival itself, and focused solely on writing (obviously). I was gutted that the main festival sold out so it was a pleasant surprise when this was announced, and I snapped up tickets immediately.

The main line-up consisted of Ben Aaronovitch, Joe Abercrombie, Joanne Harris and Joe Hill. Out of these four, I’d only read Abercrombie, and I’ve also seen him at events twice before (including Fantasy-Faction’s own Grim Gathering). Joe is one of my favourite writers and also a joy to see speak, so I was already thrilled to be going, but also seeing three other authors I’ve not seen before was a massive bonus.

Efforts to establish a global ban on offensive autonomous weapons — a.k.a. “killer robots” — have intensified in recent weeks. This uptick in lobbying comes on the heels of an open letter calling for such a ban from a group of artificial intelligence and robotics researchers, including well-known luminaries such as Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Noam Chomsky.

Unfortunately, these efforts have stigmatized much-needed research on autonomous robots that will be central to increasing economic productivity and quality of life over the next half century — but only if the technology is able to be developed. Rather than allowing those predicting a techno-dystopia to dominate the debate, policymakers should vocally champion the benefits of autonomous robots — including in the military — and embrace policies designed to accelerate their development and deployment.

Klaus responded:

“Ban the Killer Robots!” sounds like a demonstration-slogan shout in a scene on Futurama or something from an Ed Wood movie, but this article is about a real organization with real concerns.

From tele-operated drones to rudimentary A.I. in battlefield machines, they’re worried about the further mechanization of war against enemies of a lower technological level which would still be using human soldiers.

Nobody uses the word “cylon” but it sure as hell was the first thing that came to my mind.

And — I am not making this up — according to Twitter, one of the followers of “Campaign to Stop Killer Robots” tweets is Edward James Olmos.

I keep remembering this quotation by Allen Ginsberg, that “We live in science fiction.” That’s always resonated with me as prophetic, and it becomes more and more true every year.

‘Doctor Who’ has attracted some impressive guest stars over the years including Brian Blessed, Derek Jacobi, Ian McKellen, and more recently Maisie Williams, but it seems like the Beeb has its sights set on an even higher stratosphere of names for the future.

Peter Capaldi, the actor currently in the lead role, says his BBC bosses asked him to tap up Tom Hanks to appear on the hit sci-fi show.

Not that he’d actually have to parallel any role he’s done in movies, but Hanks has experience with some of the show’s familiar tropes – he’s been through a time paradox in Radio Flyer, had his own Pompeii moment in Joe Versus the Volcano, and had an extended lifespan in The Green Mile.

(9) John King Tarpinian has been catching up on Scream Queens: [Spoiler Warning]

I watched the other night’s episode this afternoon, they had a big belly laugh scene. Jamie Leigh Curtis is taking a shower, the opening of which is shot-for-shot the same as her mother did for Hitchcock. Except that Jamie beats down the bad guy saying, “I’ve seen the movie like fifty times.”

You can’t make an omelette, they say, without breaking a few eggs. Well, you also can’t blow up a Death Star without crashing a few X-wings. (That was the lesson of Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, right?) But while that sucks if you’re Porkins or one of his pilot brethren, the collision of X-wings and Death Stars makes for some pretty awesome destruction.

(11) Today In History

November 14, 1964:Santa Claus Versus The Martians is released – generally regarded as one of the worst films ever made…

Man, this has been a shitty year in many ways, and one full of life lessons that apparently the universe felt were overdue. Some of those I’m still grappling with. I am so freaking behind on this book it’s not even funny, but thank god for both the wonderful time spent writing in California this summer and the kick in the ass that NaNoWriMo has administered. I’m feeling hopeful about that again and making steady progress.

At the same time among the bumps there’s been plenty of bright spots. Among them my first novel, my first appearance in a Year’s Best collection (edited by Joe Hill, no less), and my first acceptance to longtime goal Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (I have been submitting there for over a decade now). I’ve had nineteen original publications come out since my last birthday, and twelve are currently forthcoming, including a team-up with Mike Resnick. Rachel Swirsky and I are working on some projects together, which is terrific fun. I have a good half dozen stories already spoken for. My collaboration with Bud Sparhawk finally got accepted so he can stop nagging me about why it hasn’t sold yet.

As for the Republicans—how can one regard seriously a frightened, greedy, nostalgic huddle of tradesmen and lucky idlers who shut their eyes to history and science, steel their emotions against decent human sympathy, cling to sordid and provincial ideals exalting sheer acquisitiveness and condoning artificial hardship for the non-materially-shrewd, dwell smugly and sentimentally in a distorted dream-cosmos of outmoded phrases and principles and attitudes based on the bygone agricultural-handicraft world, and revel in (consciously or unconsciously) mendacious assumptions (such as the notion that real liberty is synonymous with the single detail of unrestricted economic license or that a rational planning of resource-distribution would contravene some vague and mystical ‘American heritage’…) utterly contrary to fact and without the slightest foundation in human experience? Intellectually, the Republican idea deserves the tolerance and respect one gives to the dead.

(14) You can buy Forrest J Ackerman Presents Music For Robots, created by Frank Coe, on iTunes for $9.99.

The album was released in 2005. It seems that some (all?) of it has already been uploaded to YouTube.

[Thanks to David K.M. Klaus, Hampus Eckerman, Michael J. Walsh, and John King Tarpinian for some of these stories. Title credit goes to File 770 contributing editor of the day Soon Lee.]

1. FOLLOWING A QUEST
Ladyhawke (1985). A serious classic. Fisher King was fun, but mostly, it made me want to see a good adaptation of a Tim Powers novel. (However, I have not been able to bring myself to watch Pirates of the Caribbean V, which I suspect fails the “good” part.)

2. VENTURING INTO THE MAGICAL REALM
Stardust (2007). Meh. Again Stardust goes up against another flawed adaptation. Again I think it’s the better of the two.

3. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE (IT HAD TO BE USED)
Highlander (1986)
Big (1988)
I cannot figure out any way to compare these two, so I’m forced to choose tie.

4. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING AGAIN? I’M GOING TO CRY
My Neighbour Totoro (1988). Ow, ow, ow, but I guess it had to be done.

5. JACK SPARROW VS YOSEMITE SAM
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Argh. So painful! Anyone want to set up a kickstarter to buy Hampus some new dice? Sure that will fix this sort of thing! 🙂

6. EXCITING OR SCARY
The Mummy (1999). Oooh, I just can’t stand it. Love both movies! Once we buy the new dice, I vote we do something really horrible to the old ones. Rachel Weisz in the library with the domino shelves FTW.

7. GOOD HEARTED FUN
Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Sorry, Santa Claus fans, but to me this is a pretty easy choice, and one of the only ones in the round, so I’m going to relish the moment.

8. IT’S AN ENTIRELY NOISY MANIFESTATION
Time Bandits (1981). And back to the pain. I’ll…go with the one I want to rewatch more.

BONUS BRACKET, where the pain just keeps coming!

1. MAGICIANS IN TROUBLE
The Books of Magic, Neil Gaiman. Ow.

2. POWER OF THE SWORDS
The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley. Single most painful choice yet! I think the McKinley is something that needs to be made, but I’m holding Elric in reserve as a write-in for later rounds.

1. FOLLOWING A QUEST
Ladyhawke (1985)Fisher King (1991)
okay, okay, I guess I should see Ladyhawke at some point, but damnit if Being John Malkovich and Nightmare Before Xmas aren’t here anymore, I’m going to drown my sorrows with Gilliam.

2. VENTURING INTO THE MAGICAL REALM
Stardust (2007)Neverending Story (1984)

One of these things is slightly less bad than the other.

3. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE (IT HAD TO BE USED)
Highlander (1986)Big (1988)
Just watched Big for the first time on recommendation of a screenwriter friend on keeping your magic as simple as possible in your screenwriting.

8. IT’S AN ENTIRELY NOISY MANIFESTATIONTime Bandits (1981)
Fantasia (1940)
[Edited to remove awesome Princess Bride quote–okay, apparently I thought Fantasia had knocked out one of my favorites in Round 1, but it only knocked out Willy Wonka, which I am in fact not particularly attached to. I AM SLEEP DEPRIVED.]

The Red Knight catches up with Parry and Jack is to caught up in his rejuvenated radio career to care about risking it by playing burglar. Meanwhile, Mouse and Navarre continue their quest to kill the Bishop.

“Just one tiny snack”, thinks Richard. But while licking his fingers from the grease, he doesn’t notice that the pale man has awakened. And is closing in. Too late, he turns around, the clawed hands of the pale man the last thing he’ll ever see alive.

Swanson is not his name, but excitement is his game. Jack Burton is full of confidence and hot air. And that is how we like him. And his rival? Well, Santa does not exist in this reality so it is walkover for Burton.

This one was so fun, because the race was so close. But Timothy Hunter should never have turned his back to Mister E. Shadow Jack is left alone to continue with his science experiments.

WINNER: Jack of Shadows

2. POWER OF THE SWORDS
Elric of Melniboné, Michael Moorcock – 11 votes
The Hero and the Crown, Robin McKinley – 21 votes

Stormbringer or The Blue Sword? Elric runs out of luck when Stormbringer grows a tad bit to hungry and cuts off his left foot. While Elric is screaming “Just a scratch”, Aerin continues to the next round.